Monday, March 25, 2013

Hola!!!!

So it´s been a long interesting week.
This is a great area and a great ward, but for now we are working the streets.
Hermana Velazquez is more excited about it than I am, but she helps me a lot. I
am willing and able to do anything the Lord has asked me to do. Living the law
of consecration is a lot harder than I thought it would be. It´s not just being
a mindless robot who does whatever it´s told. Living the law of consecration is
something you have to choose every moment of every day. If we were to be
mindless robots, we would be choosing Satan´s plan. To live God´s law, we need
to choose to give Our Heavenly Father our heart, might, mind, and strength.
Sometimes that´s not the easiest thing to do, but it is the wisest and the only
way to true happiness. I would encourage all to look up the talk called ¨The
Fourth Missionary¨. It is a wonderful talk and I feel that it applies to just
more than missionaries.

We are both pretty much better from
sicknesses and nobody got pink eye. We were both very happy about that. So the
open house for the church will take place the first week in june and the
missionary activity will take place the first weekend in may. I´m sad to miss
both of the activities, but happy that people seem excited for them. No I am not
legal, the paperwork took too much time and I couldn´t finish it because of some
complications. The church will pay a fee so that I can leave the country.

I did not get the package still. We had
interviews this last thursday. I get my mail my last day, so I believe that it
will be there. I just hope that I can open it before I leave. Thank you soooo
much for sending it.

We haven´t heard too much about the pope.
There are signs everywhere, but people actually talking to us about the pope
hasn´t really happened. I´m a little surprised.

I asked for the sweet and sour pork
recipe for a member. We might make it ourselves next week, but I have to figure
out if corn starch and canned pineapples exist here. I would love to eat it
though. The vegetables are pretty fresh here, so it gives a good taste.

We had our general stake conference this
last weekend and it was really uplifting. Elder Nelson was one of the speakers.
They talked a lot about the family and about salvation and revelation. I will
have to show all my notes from the mission to everyone because I don´t have
enough time to write everything. Maria Elena came to the conference. She has had
a rough life. I don´t know if she will get to baptism with us, but I sure will
trying my hardest to do the Lord´s will in her life.

Well, it´s time to head out. I love you
all soooo much. Keep safe, keep cool. Enjoy today, it´s the only time you
have.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Hola!!!!

So it´s been interesting. ^_^ We just got
permission today to write friends with emails. I´ve already sent a couple. I
promise that I won´t spend a lot of time writing friends. You all are more
important.

So we are both sick because the weather
changed so fast. I have a sinus infection and my companion has a cold. I am
praying that both of us don´t lose our voices. That would be rough. We also
visited a family who turns out to have pink eye. LOL I promise that I won´t get
that. We are still on the search for investigators. There are a few new ones and
I am excited to see what happens. There is one investigator who is from Peru.
She recently moved here with her sister about 2 months ago. Her first husband
left her with three young children and then she moved in with her second
husband. They have a son together but never got married. Her new husband is also
not divorced. Her children are members and her sister is a less active member.
Her neice just got to the MTC this last week. We aren´t really sure what´s going
to happen, but we are going to trust in the Lord and see what to do.

We have interviews this next week for our
zone and I get to do paperwork twice to be legally here in argentina again. It´s
ok, I get to visit capital. It´s extremely busy and I prefer provincia, but at
least There are interesting things there. The weather has been pretty nippy
these last couple days. Today it´s pretty nice, but we shall see how the rest of
the week goes. President likes to put on the A/C for the elders in their suits,
so you learn to bring a heavy jacket to meetings with President. We´ll see how
it goes with our illnesses.

This last sunday there was a family at
church who hadn´t gone since before I got here. I was so excited to see them,
and happy. There are some really good families here. We are still working hard
with the members to help them share the gospel and have the faith that God is
preparing people in their lives. That is probably the hardest thing. Many say
that everyone knows they are mormons. Others say that they share the gospel but
everyone turns them down. It´s true that most people know that we are members of
the church, but because we never invite, they never receive the blessings God
has for them. Yes, it´s true that even though we share the Gospel, a lot of
people will say no. There is a principle in the Gospel that will touch their
hearts. You just have to find it. You can also look for more people to know and
then share the Gospel. Don´t forget that a lot depends on your faith. Remember
what Moroni said in Ether 12: It was because of faith that Ammon, Aaron, Nephi,
Lehi, and many others wrought great changes among their brethren. Sometimes our
friends are touched by the Spirit, because we lack faith. Faith makes a huge
difference in the person receiving the Gospel and the person sharing the
Gospel.

Well, it´s time to head out. I love you
all sooooo much. I´ll talk with you soon. Take care.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Hola!!!

So another week has come and gone and the
work moves on. We are working hard in helping the members fulfill their calling
of being missionaries. We have about 20 future references and are looking to
turn each one of those into a progressing investigator. The ultimate goal is to
help them reach the temple, but they cannot get to the temple if they are not
first baptized and remain faithful. Everything has a beginning and for
exaltation, it´s baptism. But how do we baptize? We first must find those who
are prepared to receive the Gospel. How do we find those prepared to receive the
Gospel? How are they prepared? Alma teaches us that: ¨For behold, angels are
declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of
preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of
his coming in his glory.¨ (Alma13:24) Who are these angels, then? The guide to
the scriptures lets us know that angels are not just heavenly messangers, but
also righteous men and women on earth who follow the impresions of the Spirit.
The Lord is sending every member as a ministering angel, not only to serve and
help but also to share and testify. They are also the ones who introduce their
friends to the authorized representatives who can help them reach baptism. A
bishop cannot authorize a baptism of someone older than 8 years old. A stake
president cannot authorize a baptism of someone older than 8 years old. The only
person with that authority is the mission president over the area. Though many
good people have wonderful intentions, their friends will not receive the
necessary ordinances, until they are presented to the people with the authority
and correct keys. They will not receive exaltation. Who will prepare your loved
ones if you don´t do it? The angels on the other side of the veil can only go so
far. Another thing that I have come to understand more fully is the importance
of commitments and invitations. Our friends and family see how happy we are.
They see that we are different. A lot of them want to be truly happy, but
believe that it is out of their reach. When they see that we are happy, they
still believe that it is something unattainable for them. If we do not invite
them, they may never know that they can truly be happy. They don´t know what to
do to find faith and increase it. Each person has a divine potential inside
waiting to shine and grow, but they do not have direction or nurishment and
don´t know where to find it. Out of all the people in the world and in all the
history of the world, we are an extremely small percentage of people with the
fulness of the Gospel in our lives. Why is that? It is because we promised, we
made a covenant with our Heavenly Father, that we would bring the Gospel to
those around us. They trusted in us, that we would go and find them and never
give up on them. We can´t let them or our Heavenly Father down.

This wednesday, we are planning to talk about the
missionary activity and see if it is something that will function in Villa
Urquiza. I am very excited and hope to be here if they do it. Hermana Velazquez
is a wonderful companion and missionary. She is doing well here and she will
help this area flourish even more. We need to get to work now so I will talk
with all of you again soon. I love you all to the ends of the earth and
beyond.

So Here is the March 4th email. Getting lazy now that we're coming to the end ^_^

Hola!!!

So another week has come and gone in the
mission and life is interesting. Everyone here has given me a warm welcome back
to Villa Urquiza and I know that the work will move forward here. Hermana
Velazquez was a visa waiter so she arrived in the middle of the transfer. This
means that her training was thrown off so we finished it this weekend and now
she is a fully trained missionary. She is excited for the work and to be 100%
obedient. We are finally seeing some progress with the members and receiving
referrals. There are so many wonderful members in our ward. They just need help
sharing the Gospel. We need them as much as they need us and their friends and
family need the both of us. We are excited to work even closer together.

I brought up the suggestion about doing a
missionary activity here and our ward mission leader loved it. We will be
talking about it on wednesday to see if it´s something that would be good for
the ward. It has been an interesting thing to me that not everything works in all
areas. I would think that great missionary activities should work in at least
the same stake, but it doesn´t. I feel like it will be good here, though, so we
will see what happens.

I´m glad that nobody was hurt in the accident
and that things are going well in the ward. I just want all of you to know that
I love you all sooooo much and pray for your safety and health each night. I
know that you are in the Lord´s hands and He will help you in the way that you
need most. Don´t worry, the Lord knows what He´s doing.

I wanted to ask you to verify something.
This is the only time I will mention anything, because it is not something I
want to think about, but want you to be sure of if you haven´t already thought
about it. My first sunday will be fast and testimony meeting. Will that be my
homecoming? or will bishop wait until the next sunday? Can you invite Brother Orr, too? and Amanda
Blake? and Breeanna? All my letters will get there too late to give them any
forewarning. I know that you will let everyone else know so I won´t name
them.

I love you all sooo much. Stay happy. I
will talk with you again soon.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Hola!!!

So another week has come and gone with a
lot of surprises. First of all, transfers. I was transfered back to Villa
Urquiza and am with Hermana Velazquez. She was the one that Hermana Renteria did
the second part of her training (or as we call it: her stepmom). Hermana Peralta
goes home tomorrow. Hermana Renteria is going to be receiving a new missionary
tomorrow when they arrive. There are still only two of us here in Villa Urquiza,
and the weather is beautiful right now.

The week was a wonderful one. There was a
wonderful missionary activity this last wednesday. All the returned missionaries
(didn´t matter what year they served) brought things to display and share from
their missions. Most of them had served within the last 10-15 years, but there
was one of the counselors to the bishop who served about 20-30 years ago (I
don´t remember). It was really cool to see all the different epics. A lot of
them brought food from the different places which just made for an interesting
time. There was a lot of sharing, reminiscing and the Spirit was really strong.
Everyone felt motivated to share the Gospel especially after the special musical
number. It was rendition of ¨I´ll go where you want me to go¨, ¨We´ll bring the
world it´s truth¨, and ¨Called to serve Him.¨ I believe that it was by Janice
Kapp Perry. It was really good and the Spirit was so strong. I look forward to
doing something like that one day. There weren´t any non members, but had they
been there, it would have touched there hearts. There were a lot of Institute
youth there and I think that they are more excited now to go on a mission. I´m
sending some photos from the activity. Belgrano has a great mission leader. He
is from Brazil, but works for the church so he has traveled some with his wife
and daughter. He knows Portuguese, Spanish, and , because of serving in Provo,
english. He works hard for the work and looks to God for inspiration.

I am happy to be back in Villa Urquiza. I
was very surprised but the Lord only needed me for a week in Belgrano. That´s
ok, because He knows better. It will be interesting to see how this transfer
goes. I will actually be finishing the last week of training of Hermana
Velazquez. So I´m technically her 4th ¨mom¨. I don´t think anyone in our mission
has that record.

We were so excited to hear about the 58
new missions. One of them, the Argentina Rivadavia mission, is actually the
south of our mission. Rio Gallegos, Tierra Del Fuego, and all of that will be
it´s own mission. I was one of the last sisters in Rio Gallegos, before it
becomes it´s own mission in July. We were all so surprised by that. It´s an
amazing time to be a missionary. I hope that all who can, take the opportunity
to do so.

Well, there isn´t too much more to tell,
so I´ll say goodbye for now. I love you all sooooo much. Stay cool and don´t
forget the basics.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Hola!!

So I have a surprise for all of you. We
have transfers this coming sunday, but President received some revelations. I am
no longer in Villa Urquiza with Hermana Peralta. I am in Belgrano (not Belgrano
Sur) the next area over with... you´ll never guess.... Hermana Renteria!!
We are pretty excited; unsure of what is going on and what the Lord has planned,
but excited nonetheless.

We were actually doing intercambios
(divisions) and at 10:30pm the night before we were to switch back, the
asistants called us and said that we were staying that way. We were so
surprised, and of course a little sad to leave our companions. We are pretty
sure that we are not staying together, because we both end at the same time so
that would leave Belgrano completely open.

I just got here, so I´m not sure what to
talk about. It used to be an elder´s area 2 transfers ago, so Hermana Renteria
and Hermana Hermosa opened it up for hermanas. The area 70 is in my area as well
as the stake president. Most of the ward seems to be returned missionaries,
several of which served in the states.

I do have an interesting story, though.
So the pump has been broken for the baptismal font since December and Nuñez (the
other area next to us who shares the same building) had had a baptism, so the
water has been in there for about 2 1/2 months, then they finally got it working
and they let out the water. The problem was that all the mold went to the bottom
and they didn´t clean it for a couple weeks, so the mold stuck and grew. It was
pretty gross as you can see in the photo with Hermana Renteria. It was
interesting cleaning it. I sometimes joke about when the pump breaks. I would
tell my companion: ¨This is why we baptize weekly, so the pump doesn´t break and
the font stays clean.¨ Our goal as a mission is to baptize weekly. Not for the
numbers, but it´s just like President Hinckley said: ¨We can double the numbers
of baptisms. I´m not being unreasonable. We can have both quantity and quality.¨
The Lord is preparing in all the world in every area. There are ministering
angels in all parts, both seen and unseen. The Lord is working hard, we need to
as well.

Well, our time is up. I love you all sooo
much. I hope you saw the video of the rededication. It was an amazing
experience. If you haven´t seen it, still, here is the link. http://countrywebsites.lds.org/ar/ or just lds.org.ar

I will talk with you soon. Don´t forget
to pray for missionary experiences.

How is everyone going? Things here are
moving along. The other week, we were approached by Susanna and her family. They
are the ones that live in the take in building and live on the 12th floor. For
those who don´t know or remember what a take in building is, it´s a building
that isn´t finished and people live there for a lower price. There is not an elevator, so we climb 12 floors everyday. It´s a good work out. We are working
hard with them. They didn´t go to church again this sunday, because they slept in. We did everything we
knew how to to help them: daily contact, reminding them every appointment, doing
practices, asking ¨what if¨ questions, and have as many members as possible
involved. They still didn´t go to church. We stood knocking for a good 20
minutes. We identified some reasons as to why they didn´t come and we are going
to work on them this week.

Other than this family, we don´t have any
investigators. The search still goes on. I can´t help but encourage and invite
all who read this to pray for a missionary experience. If it´s because of fear
or timidness, you can pray for courage and strength to accomplish it. Moroni
7:33 says¨ And Christ hath
said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is
expedient in me.¨ Now some might think to themselves: ¨It´s easy for you, you´re
a missionary.¨ The thing that has been the hardest for me to do in the mission
is the thing I need to do every moment of every day: opening my mouth. Few know
the kind of struggles and experiences I have had to go through to become who I
am today. I have come to know the scriptures and my Savior in a way I never knew
possible. I have felt His love as well as my Father´s love; not only for myself
but for all of His children. I have gone into the depths of despair and have
seen His hand in every part of my life. We cannot feel joy if we do not know
what sorrow is. That is what Adam and Eve came to understand. Is it hard? Yes.
Is is possible? Absolutely. Is it Heavenly Father´s will? Definitely. He wants
His children to come home. The only way for them to come home is through
ordinances. The first is baptism, the second is the sacrament, the priesthood
(if you are male), and then the ordinances of the temple. Heavenly Father has
told us His plan and Christ has shown us the way. Not only has He shown us the
way, He is the only one that makes it possible. We often don´t completely
understand or apply the Atonement. We know that He suffered for our sins. We
know that He took upon Himself our pains and our sorrows. Yet how often do we
really apply that. The Atonement means that we are never alone. There is someone
who understands our hardships and heartaches. There is someone with the power to
comfort us spiritually and emotionally. As we have our own experiences with the
Atonement we will want to share that joy and freedom with those closest to us.
Alma and his friends understood that. They had tasted the sweetness that comes
from repenting and feeling the love of God in their lives. As our testimonies
grow from our own spiritual experiences, we gain the desire and testimony
necessary to share the Gospel. We do not need a lot of knowledge. That is not
what converts people. I believe President Brigham Young´s experience helps us
understand that. President Brigham Young (1801–77) said he knew the gospel was
true when he “saw a man without eloquence, or talents for public speaking, who
could only say, ‘I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon
is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord.’” President Young said when
he heard that humble testimony, “The Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual
illuminate[d] my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality [were] before
me.” It is the Holy Ghost that touches hearts and converts people, and He will
only do so as you bear a sincere testimony.

The Gospel is a joyous thing. God wants
us to be happy, not just for the moment with temporal joys and indulgences, but
genuinely happy. Remember that His work and His glory is to bring to pass the
inmortality and eternal life of man. Eternal life is when we come to know our
Heavenly Father and what our relationship is to Him. Don´t forget the bascis:
obedience is the first law under heaven; ¨Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.¨; search, ponder, and pray; and finally
go to church. The Lord does not ask us to be perfect to go to His home. He
asks that we do our best. The healthy don´t need a physician. We don´t need
Christ if we are perfect, but we are not perfect and we do need Christ. That is
His entire purpose, go to Him. Let Him heal you. It´s hard when someone offends
you at church, but you aren´t there for them. You need the sacrament; you need the Holy Ghost. You can only receive those
two things as you attend church every sunday. Satan´s most effective lie is that
you can wait until next time, or tomorrow; that you can be casual. It is a lie.
Four months ago, we heard a prophet of the Lord call on the younger generation
to step forward and become missionaries to spread the Gospel to all the earth.
The Lord is quickening His work and we can either be a part of it or fall
behind. There isn´t much time. ¨It´s getting late¨ (Elder Holland General
Conference April 2012). This is the time for men to prepare to meet God. He will
never ask us at the final judgement: ¨What did others do to you? or What
happened to you?¨, but ¨What did you do for others and What choices did you
make?¨.

In 8 weeks our mission will receive 81 new missionaries. There are about
200 missionaries in our mission and, on average, we normally receive 10 new
missionaries every transfer. I imagine that it is the same in just about every
mission now. As members and missionaries, we need to be prepared to receive them
and forward the work according to the vision that Heavenly Father has for each
area. It is not a short range vision. The stone cut out of the mountain without
hands is rolling forward and covering the whole earth.

As missionaries, we have very little time to write. I try to follow the
Spirit to know what you need to hear. I know that I am not perfect, but I pray
that the words I do feel to write will touch your hearts. You are all
wonderful and amazing people and I love you soooo much. Keep moving forward.
It´s possible and it´s worth it.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Hola!!!!!!!!!

So another week has come and gone. We are
dying of heat one minute and the next it´s freezing, but that is a normal week
here in Buenos Aires. We are searching for the people the Lord has prepared and
it is a dilligent search. We are working hard together and it has been a
wonderful experience. Hermana Peralta has been through a lot in her life because
of health reasons and actually has a prostetic in her right hip, yet she still
goes forward. We are absolutely exhausted, but we are in the Lord´s work and He
will take care of us if we do our part.

We are trying to find those who are
prepared by the Lord and in turn are walking a lot. We know that the Lord is
preparing people and that we need to do our part. It is a struggle when you
aren´t teaching. The cycle is to teach when you find and find when you teach.
Getting that cycle going is a little harder to do sometimes. We aren´t
discouraged and we are trying every day to do better. I still remember what
President Gulbrandsen told me when I first started the mission. You can´t be a
missionary and be happy if you aren´t doing missionary things. I can finally say
that I want to be here. Yes, there are things that I still long for at home
(washing machines, sunday naps, etc), but I am no longer tempted by them and I
know that they will be there when I get back. It´s a long struggle and it´s
getting late (as Elder Holland says). I know that this is the Lord´s work and
there is much to do.

I´m not really sure what else to talk
about. We are expecting about 30 new missionaries this coming transfer and we
normally receive about 10. It´s going to be fun. We are excited to see what
happens in the mission. I went on intercambios with Hermana Renteria. We have
practically been together in one form or another for our entire mission. I often
think to myself about Mom and Dad with their companions 30-40 years later and
what it will be like for me and my companions. We have all grown and changed so
much. There are inside jokes and stories that only we know.

Well, I wish that I could say, I had
things to talk about, but it´s been very quiet and nothing you haven´t heard
before. I guess no news is good news. I am very happy to see all the progress
you all are making. I pray that you will continue moving forward, firm in the
faith. Keep your chin up and never give up.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Hola!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

So there isn´t really too much to tell
about this week. I got a nice sunburn. ^_^ We were sad about Americo, because
his wife said that he couldn´t meet with us anymore or she would leave with his
daughter. We always try to include the entire family, but we can´t obligate
anyone. We feel good, because we did all that we could and the ultimate choice
was theirs. We don´t have investigators right now, but we are looking forward to
see what happens because the members are starting to talk with their friends.
The youth just got back from EFY so they are all excited to share the Gospel. We
are happy to work with them.

I really wish that there was more to
tell. I couldn´t write yesterday because we had a meeting with one of the
seventy, Elder Wilhelm of the 7th quorum of the seventy. It was an amazing
experience and we have much to repent of. I love repenting, because it means
that the Lord is teaching me and purifying me. I have a long way to go and
everything helps. Hermana Peralta is so kind and I´m sad that she goes home in
four weeks. She is determined and patient and has had to pass through many
hardships. I am very grateful to be her companion. We will have a lot of
adventures together. I wish that I could chat longer, but we have to get
moving.

I love you all sooooo much and that you
are doing good. Thank you for all the support and love and prayers. I pray for
you everyday. Keep moving forward and never give up.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Hola!!!

Happy Birthday Anthony!!! (Sorry, I know
that it´s a day late)

So the changes have come. I don´t
remember if I told you about Hermana Peralta. I went on divisions with her last
week in Nuñez. She is wonderful and I loved being with her. She goes home at the
end of this transfer. She is from Cordoba, Argentina. She works hard and loves
learning about everything. It was an interesting change. We still have the
entire area of Villa Urquiza so we will still be working in a large area.
Hermana Peralta was with Hermana Binks in Nuñez and Hermana Binks just went home
now. We all thought that Hermana Peralta was going to stay there, so we were
very surprised with the changes. That is just one example of the surprising
changes. We did not receive any new hermanas this transfer, but we are expecting
about 30 new missionaries in the next one. We will see how many are
hermanas.

So, we are teaching a wonderful person
named Americo. Hermana Kapp had the feeling one day to talk with some youth that
were playing on their front porch during a birthday party. They looked for an
adult (that would actually leave) and out came Americo. He started talking with
us and actually was intrigued and listened. We went back and he had read a
little bit in the Book of Mormon. Every time we pass by, he likes offering the
first prayer and then letting us know what caught his attention from his
reading. He is a wonderful person and we love teaching him. He is so excited and
so open. We are praying that his wife will let them get married so that he can
get baptized.

So, about the photos. The first one is of
me saying goodbye to Hermana Kapp. The second is of me and Hermana Peralta when
we arrived at the apartment. Which reminds me. Hermana Kapp had been quoting ¨A
Knight´s Tale¨ all week and it sounds hilarious. So if you want to see a movie
let me know how it goes.

I love you all soooooo much. I feel your
prayers every day and I pray for you every day. I know that you are in the
Lord´s hands.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Hola!!!

Things here are moving forward. We
actually had a pretty good week. Today we received an interesting conference
call from President Gulbrandsen. Turns out that a member of the Seventy is going
to do a mission tour with him in two weeks and President said that we couldn´t
get on the internet today until we thoroughly cleaned house. We had already
mopped and cleaned just before we received the call, so we thought that it
wouldn´t take too long. It took 4 hours to finish cleaning everything. Now, I
want to explain something before you all fall over laughing. We have had many
sisters go home recently and there are always things left behind. We decided to
take the time to go through all the stuff left behind and the places that we
hadn´t touched in a while (under the bed, cupboards, etc). It was very
satisfying, but we don´t really have that much time for other things, now. A
talk came to mind as I was cleaning that made me think. I hope you like it: July
Liahona 2012 ¨Unspotted From the World¨ by Julie Thompson.

The weather is always playing games.
Sometimes, it´s hot, sometimes it´s hot and humid, and sometimes it rains (which
really means, it pours). The mosquitos are finding us in the night, especially,
so, although I use everything everyone has sent me (and then some), I still find
myself eaten alive. ^_^ Hermana Kapp is just as bad off as I am. We only pray
that the time of the mosquitos ends soon or that we go back down south. I doubt
that we would go back down, neither of us have enough time left to go
down.

As far as investigators go, we don´t have
any that are really progressing. We are looking for new ways to find . We know
that working with the members is the best way to find and help them remain
faithful. We have prayed and received counsel from all of our leaders and the
Lord. We are putting into action, this week the revelations that have come and
we are hopeful in the Lord.

Transfers are this coming sunday and we have six more sisters leaving:
Hermana Quispe, Hermana Hermosa, Hermana Malhue, Hermana Lobos, Hermana Shelley,
and Hermana Binks. We shall see how many come in this transfer. It´s going to be
exciting. The transfer after, we are going to receive an amazing amount. I can´t
believe how young they are all going to be. I can´t believe how old I am.
Hermana Kapp did a calculation and in mission life, she is 79 years old and I am
86 years old. ^_^ It´s such a funny way to think about things. But I promise
that I am not trunky. I am more focused now than ever before on my mission. I
have been able to meditate on how far I have come in the mission and far I have
to go. We are working hard and doing the best that we can for the areas that we
are in. We do not know how things will go this transfer. Hermana Kapp has 4
transfers here aka 6 months. The thing is, I will have only had 3 weeks to learn
her side of the area. It could be that there only remains two of us, or it could
be that we receive two more. They could be completely new or have time in the
mission. The Lord could even take both of us out and put in elders. On top of
the fact, they are cutting this next transfer by 1 week. It will be interesting
to see what happens.

Well, we have to be on our way in an hour
and we still have to buy food. So I´ll talk to all of you later. I love you all
soooo much.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Hola!!!

So another week has gone by and we are working the entire area.
Hermana Kapp is such a sweet heart. I love working with her. She has so much
love and humility. She loves to help others and only wants to please her
Heavenly Father. She is from Utah and is studying psychology in BYU Provo and is
the oldest of 5 girls. She has a lot of love and a lot of dilligence. I´m
excited to see what happens these next two weeks together. I don´t know how she
cooks, yet, but we sure like to talk.

Well, it´s been a week of miracles
and difficulties. As I told all of you last week. We had the amazing miracle of
Yolanda´s baptism and confirmation. She is amazing and very prepared. Her
daughter, Luciana, is amazingly prepared as well. There was a ward baptism
saturday and they both loved it. I asked Luciana how she felt about her baptism
and she said: ¨I feel faith. I have the ganas (or drive) to be baptized.¨ She
was so happy and we were so excited for her. Sunday, they hadn´t arrived to
church so we went to go pick them up. We get there and knock for a while.
Finally, Yolanda answered and we were able to get in. She tried to tell us that
We asked her to try and wake up Luciana so that Luciana could make her own
decision. Norma woke up and came out. She tried to force us to leave and leave
the family alone. She got mad when we tried to talk with Yolanda and Luciana.
Yolanda got upset at the entire situation and left to enter the bedroom while we
stayed out in the living room. Norma continued and finally, when we felt the
Spirit telling us that we had done everything we could, we left. We went back
later that night and Yolanda said that we couldn´t come back and that she wasn´t
going to church again. She said that she couldn´t stand the contention in the
home. She also said that she wouldn´t leave God, but she couldn´t go to church
now. You can imagine how broken our hearts were and are. It´s rough, especially
when things were going so wonderfully. We don´t know what will happen, but we
feel that everything will be ok. We don´t know when or how, but we have the
Lord´s promise that it will be ok. It has been a great test of faith, prayer,
dedication, patience, and charity.

The members are working wonderfully
with us and we are seeing the missionary spirit come to life in this ward. We
are looking to find a way to help them share with their friends. I often wonder
how to help people listen and feel the doctrine of Christ. We teach and
sometimes they seem to listen and other times they don´t. There are a lot of
things that we know, but fail to do as human beings. I knew that I was supposed
to share the gospel to others. I thought being an example was enough. I have
come to realize that that is a wonderful and necessary way to share the Gospel,
but without an invitation, or more action, they will not know where to go. I
think of Lehi´s dream. Had he not called out to others to come, it is very
unlikely that they would have found the iron rod or even known about the tree.
It´s true that some would have found the way by accident, but there are many
others who are prepared and are only waiting to know where to go. I have come to
live the scriptures and truly understand, at a deeper level, what they mean. One
of my favorite examples is James 2:17-19. ¨17 Even so afaith, if it
hath not bworks, is
dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I
have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my afaith by my bworks.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou
doest well: the adevils also
bbelieve, and
tremble.¨ I have come to realized that I need to be different than the devils. I
can´t simply say that I have faith: it´s not enough. I have to act.

I love all of you
sooooo much and wish you all the best. Stay happy, stay safe, and stay warm.
Talk with you soon.

Mission Office Address:

Hermana Jessica Alvey

Gral. Lavalle 1828

1646 San Fernando

Buenos Aires, Argentina

How to send pouch mail:

Only postcards or one-page letters (no envelopes) written on one side of the page may be sent through the pouch. Notebook or other light-weight paper will not process through the USPS machines. Photographs are not acceptable.

Letter folding instructions:

Lay the letter blank side down. Fold the bottom of the letter about one-third of the way up the page and crease. Fold the top of the letter to the bottom of the first fold and crease. Secure the long side with two pieces of tape about one inch in from each end, but do not seal the ends. In the top left corner write your name and complete return address. Affix first class postage in the top right corner. In the middle write the missionary address as follows: